Schools and waste management staff across Tayside and Fife will join strike action to protest what a union claims is a “shameful” pay offer.
Unite the union says its members have rejected a 2% increase offered to them and voted in favour of taking strike action.
The union represents thousands of school and cleansing department workers at Fife Council and Tayside Contracts – which employs staff across Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross.
It comes after warnings rubbish could “pile high” across Scotland as workers down tools.
Final dates are still to be finalised, however it is expected that action in refuse and waste services will begin in mid-August.
Strikes impacting schools are expected to begin in early September.
Why are council staff unhappy?
The row centres around a pay offer put forward by Cosla – the body representing local authorities.
Staff have been offered a 2% wage rise, but all three unions representing council staff have demanded a £3,000 pay packet boost and a minimum wage of £12 an hour for all employees.
Unite say that with inflation soaring to 11.8%, prompting a cost of living crisis, the current offer is unacceptable.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The message for both the Scottish Government and Cosla is crystal clear: thousands upon thousands of members won’t tolerate real terms pay cuts anymore, and they have had enough.
“Our members are being forced to take this action due to a derisory pay offer, and we will support them in this fight for better jobs, pay and conditions in local government.”
The unions also pointed to pay offers in England, where the lowest paid staff have been offered a significant pay increase.
Johanna Baxter, Unison head of local government, said: “Council workers south of the border were offered a flat rate uplift of £1,925, which for those on the lowest pay equates to a 10.5% increase.
“You have to wonder why council workers north of the border have only been offered a measly 2% increase when the cost of living continues to spiral.
Councillor David Ross, leader of Fife Council and Labour group at Cosla, previously issued a statement saying he was disappointed an offer that would avoid industrial action could not be made.
‘They deserve fair pay’
He said: “Many local government workers are already low paid.
“With inflation running at over 9%, it’s not right that they should be forced to rely on benefits to bring their income up to a decent level as the Scottish Government cabinet secretary has been quoted as saying.
“These are the same key workers we clapped for throughout the pandemic – they deserve fair pay not just platitudes.”
Fife Council’s Head of HR Sharon McKenzie confirmed that the council is aware of Unite’s plans for industrial action.
“We are assessing the potential impact this could have on our services in Fife and will work to minimise the effect of this locally.”
Tayside Contracts refused to comment.
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “We are monitoring the situation carefully.”
